ANSYS Installation Guide for Mac OSX

As with many engineering softwares, ANSYS is not available for the Mac OSX platform. However, it is still possible to install ANSYS and your other engineering softwares on an Apple computer,  by first installing Windows on your Mac. Please follow this guide to learn how to install Windows and ANSYS on your Mac. 

1.  Buy and install Parallels Desktop 9 (~$80).    

Make sure to check the system requirements. We highly recommend that your computer has at least 4GB of RAM and 20GB of free hard disk space. 

While your Apple computer already has a software called BootCamp to install Windows on your Mac, it requires the user to reboot each time he or she wants to switch operating systems. The user also has to play with disk partitioning which make its harder to configure. We highly recommend using Parallels Desktop for its ease of use and flexibility. This software allows the user to run Mac OSX and Windows side by side and it does not require hard drive partitioning. Windows simply acts as an application that you can run or close as you wish. All the Windows files are contained in one master file (a .pvm file) that you can move wherever you want, even on an external hard rive. 

2. Get yourself a copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8 (installation CD or ISO file).

Windows 8.1 Pro for Students is available on the Microsoft Store and is the best deal around for students and teachers at only $70. It is available as an ISO file to download. Select the 64 bit version (X64) when prompted. 

3. Run Parallels Desktop 9 and follow the on-screen installation instructions to install Windows. 

 If you downloaded windows as an ISO file, you will simply be asked to drag and drop the ISO file in the box to proceed with the installation process. If you have the Windows installation CD, then simply insert-it in the drive when        prompted.  We suggest that you choose to use Windows "like a PC". Feel free to follow this installation guide if you need. 

4. Buy and install the ANSYS Student Version.

ANSYS offers a student version for $25/year. Please ask Sebastien at sfl32@cornell.edu for information on how to get the ANSYS Student Version.